In that vein, Tom Cochrane was fairly successful in Canada with the band Red Rider, but he went solo at age 38 and had a huge global hit with Life is a Highway. I don’t think Red Rider had much of an impact outside of Canada.
Wow, all these years I thought “Life Is A Highway” was Billy Squier. I do remember Red Rider, they did “Lunatic Fringe”, right?
I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, and I remember “Lunatic Fringe” being all over the radio throughout the 80s. Granted, as far as I knew, Red Rider was a one-hit wonder.
Another solo act that made it big is Mike Greier, aka Puddles Pity Party. The gag originally started as a band of clowns but he went solo. It wasn’t until 2017 when he appeared on America’s Got Talent that his career took off. He was about 53 at the time.
More of a one-hit wonder is Wanz. A part-time rapper/software guy in Seattle. He appeared on Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’s Grammy winning and #1 hit Thrift Shop in 2012. He was almost 50. Mostly quit the music biz and is back doing software QA.
Lunatic Fringe made it in rotation on MTV so it made an impression in the States. But I never really knew anything else about the band.
Yes they did. And now I’m amazed that life is a highway is from the same dude. Very different vibes